she pulsed around my shaft. And that pretty much did me in, sending me over the edge and chasing her as I came too, exploding with a shout.
I said her name over and over again, feeling like my soul had left my body as my hands circled her waist. I was still moving, unable to stop until I teased the last shudder from her.
“Come here.” I pulled her down to me, kissing her hard as she pressed against my chest. “I know we broke the rules, but I can’t find the motivation to care. I love you.”
She laughed, and it was the most amazing noise I’d heard in a long time, warming me from the inside out. “Which rule are you worried about? Unprotected sex or just sex in general? Because I’d say we had multiple violations.”
“I’m not worried about any of it. I’ve had all the regrets I’m going to have and none of them involve you.”
Our eyes locked, her gaze softening as she leaned gently against my shoulder. “I love you, come shower with me.”
I knew the significance of what she was asking, having told me that previously it had been a no-go zone for other men. I’d been the only one, and while our first shower hadn’t gone so well, I was hopeful for the future. “You know, I’m never going to ask anything more from you than you’re ready to give me, Presley. I’ll wait, for however long it takes. But if you offer me something, I’m not ever turning it down.”
Her eyes lit up with excitement, pressing her lips softly against my neck. “Good, then come shower with me. And then, we’ll work out the rest as we go.”
“You said that to me once before, you know,” I reminded her, wondering how much of an idiot I’d been for fighting her from the start. “You said it wouldn’t get serious. We’d stay friends.”
Her shoulder lifted gently as she chuckled. “Guess I lied. We were never just friends. But I promise, it will be the first and the last one I ever tell you. You forgive me?”
“You’re right, Presley.” I kissed her. “We were never just friends.”
Jared
THERE WAS LITERALLY a handful of miles between Diablo and Vault aka Diablo 2.0. But in Manhattan, it made all the difference.
The meatpacking district was a different kind of animal, the cliental ready to spend their hard-earned green on the next shiny thing. It was stockbrokers, models, and people who wanted to be seen. They traveled in packs, documented everything, and were more interested in getting in where others couldn’t, than having a good time.
It had taken Presley exactly eight months to open, when everyone had told her it was almost impossible. Between building permits, the interior fit out and the liquor license, it was cutting it close for sure. But Presley Tibbs never backed away from a challenge, especially one where the odds were stacked against her.
“Wow, it looks like a bank vault.” Evans’s eyes widened, seeing the inside for the first time. “How the hell did she get all this shit fabricated in such a short amount of time?”
“My sister’s a genius, Rookie.” Tibbs handed him a beer. “Which is why she’d never have dated you.” Tibbs winked at me.
“Dude, I haven’t been the rookie in six months. I thought we were done with that shit when we got Rizzo,” Evans protested, not sharp enough to know the more he complained the more Tibbs was going to give him.
Tibbs eyed him hard, pointing his long neck at him. “Well, Rizzo isn’t here, and we outrank you. Anyway, you should count yourself lucky you even got an invite. You know how hard it is to score one for tonight? If it weren’t for us, your ass would be on the sidewalk with all those other losers waiting to get in.”
He was right about that. Opening night for a new club in the Meatpacking district was like a fire sale on iPhones, everyone wanted in on it. Add in Diablo’s reputation and that Scott Collins and his posse were special guests, and you had a line down the block that could fill the place ten times over.
“Where is the genius?” North asked, clapping my shoulder. “Ava’s teething and Quinn has an early shoot in the morning. I need to go charm my little girl to sleep.”
“She’s with David Cheng, her business partner. He flew in yesterday from Hong Kong.” I pointed to Presley at the far end of the club.